Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Mr. Max got an exciting new present this weekend - a big boy bed! He was quickly outgrowing his toddler bed, so he has now upgraded to a twin. :)

We spent a morning taking apart the toddler bed frame, which was an extra thrill since he got to use tools, and then we hauled the new mattress up and got it all set up for him. It'll stay on the floor for now while he gets used to the new sleeping space, then we'll get it up on a frame.

Monday, May 27, 2013

So. It's been a little over a year since I started going low-carb/Atkins... and it's paying off! A friend of mine recently posted her measurements online, giving me the confidence to do it too. Here we go...

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Please excuse the phone pics - but check out the progress! It's all primed, the ceiling is painted (and cut in in alllll of those grooves), the original post is revealed, the pipes are boxed in, the holes are all patched...

All that's left is the wall paint and floor paint!

boxed pipes

cutting in the ceiling

The dark is the floor color, the light is the ceiling, the blue is the door, and I'm going with distant gray on the walls

Monday, May 20, 2013

I'm not a pro by any means. But when they talk, I listen. So when a blogger I love said that Camera+ was a sound investment, I downloaded. Generally I use it just to edit, and use the regular camera to get the originals. Here's a quick example:

Original -

With a backlit edit and an emo filter -

Saved, then layered a sunshine filter -

Not too shabby for a quick shot with wet hair and a sunburned nose. :)

Thursday, May 16, 2013

So I might be a little MIA for the next couple of weeks - there's a major crunch time both at work (mountains of paperwork...) and at home with finishing projects. With my focus elsewhere, I'm sure the blog will suffer a bit - but don't despair, I'll be back on track soon!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

This last weekend I hired four members of a local college's rugby team to come help with yard work. Dad came with his tractor, and between all of us (with Max supervising), the garage and shed are scraped and awaiting paint (sprayer is on order), I now have a rock garden covering an old trash/burn pit (thanks, previous homeowners), the pool hole is mostly rescaped, and the yard trash is all in one pile awaiting removal from a local refuse company. Woo-hoo! The young men (Max corrected me several times that they are not boys or guys, they're men, which they loved) were working as a fundraiser for the team, so I paid $10/hr/person, totaling $40/hr. Way cheaper than professional labor, and they were very dedicated. I actually had to convince them to stop for lunch!

scraping paint and moving the trash pile

getting rid of the landscape fabric around the pool hole

moving dirt (and Max's stick)

more dirt moving...

and more dirt moving!

rock garden progress

scraped and ready for paint!

rock garden, awaiting some topsoil to fill the cracks

more paint scraping - and note the two squares where there used to be nasty trash bins

Monday, May 6, 2013

I "splurged" the other day and picked up some new nail polish at the drug store for a whopping $2.50. Totally worth it. :) It's my favorite color, lasted 5 days, and is super pretty. And it matches my kitchen walls!